Mashable, iPhones on the loo, Spinlister, and WTM

This week, the digital brains at Mashable have given all of us travel enthusiasts a few quotes to inspire and feed our desire to see the world. If you’re lucky enough to have travelled the globe, you’ll know that the pull to keep exploring remains long after you’re back in your home town. So if you’re feeling the need to purchase a plane ticket and fly off to distant lands, these thought provoking travel quotes might be the final encouragement you need before hitting that ‘book now’ button…

This week a poll for mobile phone network provider, Three, revealed that 69% of Londoners use their iPhones whilst on the toilet…and that’s just the people that were happy to admit it. As well as this rather disturbing detail, the survey also looked into the general user habits of the nation’s iPhone fans. For example, us Brits are more likely to be sending text messages than making calls, more men than women admit to taking selfies and you’ll find more people still using a first generation iPhone in East Anglia than in any other part of the country. For more titbits take a look at the infographic here.

We love finding websites with simple but brilliant concepts – introducing Spinlister, which allows users to rent out their bikes, winter snow gear and ski equipment to other adventurous types in their city or to tourists who are in town for a holiday. As most people only use their skis and snowboards for one or two weeks in a year, we’re positive that there will be many who will get on board with this great idea.

Thomson opened the doors of its brand new next generation store at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent this week. The new interactive store allows customers to explore an 84 inch touch screen map in search of their perfect holiday destination. In addition to live weather updates and digital reviews, social media feeds are streamed onto screens to give potential holidaymakers a taste of what they can expect from their holiday. The zone themed store offers customers a variety of ways to search, plan and book their holiday including free Wi-Fi in the pool themed area where they can use their own devices to search destinations and an advice bar where Thomson experts will be on hand to dish out tips and recommendations.

The who’s who of the global travel industry is descending on London next week for World Travel Market – the biggest event in the travel sector calendar. Stay on top of all the latest news and announcements by following @wtm_london and looking out for the hashtag #WTM13

And finally, we thought we’d finish up with this mesmerising time-lapse film of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta – a great use of video that really brings to life an event thousands of miles away from us here in London!